In conventional navigation devices, after the goals are input by a user, an operator inputs the routes to the goals, or the guide routes to the goals are automatically found. The routes to the goals are indicated as attractive lines such as thick lines on the map picture. The routes to the goals are the best, shortest or recommended routes to the goals. Hereinafter, the routes to the goals are referred to as guide routes.
In the conventional navigation device, however, roads narrower than a predetermined width such as lanes have not in many cases been stored. Taking an example, furthermore, a club house in a golf course exists on a vast land. A public road up to the entrance of the golf course may be stored as road data, but a private road in the golf course has not, in many cases, been stored as road data.
A place that has not been stored as the road data may often be selected as a goal. In the conventional navigation device in such a case, a point closest to the goal among the map data that are stored, such as an intersection closest to the goal, an entrance to the goal or an end of the road headed to the goal, is determined to be a final point of guide. Then, a route to the final point of guide is searched and is guided. Hereinafter, the final point of guide is referred to as an end point of route.
In the conventional navigation device, the map of a large scale has been shown and if the end point of route is remote from the goal, the goal is not indicated on the map picture even when the car has arrived at the end point of route. Therefore, the driver has no idea in which direction he should move to arrive at the goal from the end point of route.
Similarly, the present position may not often be stored as the road data. In the conventional navigation device in such a case, a point closest to the present position in the stored map data is determined to be a start point of guide. Then, the guide route starts from the start point of guide to guide the route. Hereinafter, the start point of guide is referred to as a start point of route.
In this way, when the start point of route is remote from the present position, no guide is effected from the present position up to the start point of route. Therefore, the driver may find it difficult to arrive at the start point of route or at the guide route.
According to another conventional navigation device, the direction of goal is indicated when the car has arrived at the end point of route or the direction of goal is indicated when the car has entered into a range within a predetermined distance from the goal. When the end point of route happens to be an intersection, however, it may not be allowed to suddenly change the direction of the car in the intersection. Moreover, even when there is a road leading to the goal just before the end point of route, the driver may not be able to judge whether he should proceed along this road or not. Furthermore, the car may enter into a range within a predetermined distance from the goal and the direction of goal may be indicated. Even in this case, however, the direction of the goal is not indicated when the distance from the end point of route to the goal is larger than the predetermined distance. Therefore, the driver is unable to determine in which direction he should proceed from the end point of route.
When the car is running deviated from the guide route as shown in FIG. 28, furthermore, the present position mark H3 is on a road H4 on which the car is now running. The guide route H2, however, is remote from the present position mark H3. In this case, when the goal is not indicated on the map picture H1, what are indicated on the map picture H1 are simply the direction H5 and the reduced scale H6. The driver is unable to learn the direction of the goal. The driver is unable to know in which direction he should be headed after he has returned to the guide route H2.
When the car is running on the guide route, furthermore, the present position H3 is indicated on the guide route H2 on the map picture H1 as shown in FIG. 29. Though the car may be running along the guide route, however, it may happen that the driver is headed in a direction opposite to the direction to the goal. In such a case, the present position H3 is indicated on the guide route H2 but the driver is unaware of the fact that he is running in the opposite direction.
Neither the goal nor the guide route H2 are indicated on the map picture H1 while the car is running deviated from the guide route, the driver is therefore quite at a loss as to which direction he should go.
In order to make sure the direction of the goal, furthermore, the driver may scroll the map picture H1. In this case, when the direction in which the picture is scrolled is not in agreement with the direction of the goal, the driver is not able to search (find) the goal.